Culinary Creations from The Last Frontier

Month: February 2012

I have a go-to recipe for turkey burgers that involves feta and spinach. They were the highlight of many GARTYQUES (garden + party + barbeque = GARTYQUE) in Alaska’s midnight sun this past summer. The feta and spinach turkey burgers were oftentimes classier than the attendees of the gartyque and certainly in a different tax … [Follow your taste buds…]

I don’t like olives, I don’t like dill, I don’t like raw scallions, and I don’t really like sundried tomatoes. However, when combined together with feta and marinated artichokes in the form of a dip, the flavor combination is to die for. The perfect combination of olive-y brininess, salty feta, smooth olive oil, and subtle … [Follow your taste buds…]

My intestines and my metabolism do not always cooperate with my appetite. This weekend was one of those occasions. Milk, cheese, sugar, fried food, red wine, beer, gluten–all things that upset my insides (and my waist line) and all were consumed this weekend. Not in one sitting, but pretty close to it. Not to make … [Follow your taste buds…]

Easy and delicious. Hearty but light. Tart and tangy while sweet and salty. Thick and chewy but crusty and fluffy. This describes the BBQ Sauce Beer Bread I created to be the vessel for BBQ Pulled Chicken. The glory of this bread is its versatility, which as you know is a favorite characteristic of mine. … [Follow your taste buds…]

Re-imagining baked goods is my favorite thing to do in the kitchen. Oftentimes, however, I have to make the original recipe first in order to decide what to re-imagine later. That is precisely what happened with this bit of moist and delectable deliciousness. I made this chocolate orange bundt cake for a breakfast at work … [Follow your taste buds…]

My very best friend in the entire universe asked me to make her wedding cake last summer, which was an incredible honor for me. My brother asked me to make his wedding cake today, which is an incredible honor as well. Two cakes for two of the people I love the most. I made a … [Follow your taste buds…]

I don’t like doughnuts. I really don’t like muffins. Since A + B (generally) = C, it is not a far cry to imagine that I would hate DoughMuffins. There is (generally) an exception to the rule, and these little bites of goodness are exactly that. I didn’t hate the little bits of perfectly spiced … [Follow your taste buds…]

For the “holiday” earlier in the week, we went to a restaurant at the top of Anchorage’s timelessly classic hotel. Most adults are well behaved in general, and particularly so when dressed up at a nice restaurant. The two of us, however, made feeding fish faces across the table and tried to stick our tongues … [Follow your taste buds…]

When reminiscing about my childhood, Cheez-its (sadly?) have a prominent role. Playing endless hours of Tripoley on the deck, endless hours of homework, and late night hours of fun all included the cheesy treat. I whole-heartedly believe that cheese makes everything in life better. Additionally, I love fine cheese as much as the powdered stuff; … [Follow your taste buds…]

I love dirt. I love sweat. Often I forgo a shower because of time constraints. I love sports–the more you suffer, the better. I am also a hopeless romantic. I love flowers. I love cheesy one-liners. I love a chilled bottle of wine paired with cheese. More importantly, I love inwardly/outwardly/upsidedownwardly/insideoutwardly showing my deep appreciation … [Follow your taste buds…]